With his one-year deal set to expire in July and the Coyotes nowhere close to the playoffs, captain Shane Doan has become the subject of trade rumblings. Even Doan himself has indulged them -- earlier this month, Sportsnet reported the 40-year-old would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, and Doan confirmed as much.
But hold on a minute.
Doan said the only way he’d leave Arizona was if a “perfect” scenario arose, adding “that just doesn’t happen too often in our sport.” And on Wednesday, Coyotes GM John Chayka threw a bit more cold water on the situation -- admitting that, while he’s taken calls on Doan, there doesn’t appear to be any imminent move.
“With me it’s been a bit overblown.” Chayka told Arizona Sports 98.7 radio, per FanRag. “Not in the sense a player who is maybe in the last year of his career would have thoughts that if a team is not trending toward the playoffs, which we don’t appear to be, that maybe there’s another opportunity out there for him. So that part’s not overblown. I think Shane has had some thoughts, and that’s natural and organic for his situation.
“But this kind of narrative that comes out that there’s some issues with how he feels he’s being used or not used, or that we had some long, drawn-out, confrontational-type discussions in the summer – I mean, those are the things that are just frustrating because they’re not true.”
The ‘narrative’ at hand is a pretty typical one. Doan’s the aging veteran, near the end of his playing days, and has yet to win a Stanley Cup. He doesn’t have a contract beyond this season. His current team is in the basement, building for the future, and could probably use the assets it would garner in a trade.
There’s also the Chayka angle to all this. He’s been pretty transparent with the Doan situation and the one involving another pending UFA, Martin Hanzal (in early January, Chayka acknowledged a Hanzal trade could go down.) That’s great for fans and media, but the ramifications can be unpleasant -- which is sort of what Chayka’s dealing with right now.
All told, the situation will be worth monitoring as the deadline draws near. It certainly seems like Chayka will be a major player.